A Close Encounter With A Bison

I want to begin by saying the images and videos on this post (video at the bottom of this thread) were taken with my phone from inside my vehicle.

They aren’t anywhere as sharp or as clear as I would want them to be but as it would appear I have this curse where when I leave my camera home  I get to see some really cool stuff. This was reaffirmed the day before Christmas when I took my dad out to Antelope Island for a drive.

We traversed all over the island and saw plenty of bison but at quite a distance. As we were about to head back to civilization I noticed a large dark object gathering some attention from a couple of the other island visitors so I decided to investigate.

Low and behold it was a rather large bison off by itself grazing on some new grass shoots right next to the road. It paid no attention to any of the vehicles watching as it casually fed on the tender green grass.

One thing to keep in mind when visiting Antelope Island is these rather large herbivores seem docile but they are wild animals. Even though they have no predators on the island they can and still should be thought of as dangerous animals.

This is the time, at such close proximity like this, when many visitors get out of their vehicles and try to get a selfie with the buffalo in the background only to be met with an angry protest from a charging bison.

I have seen some rather crazy stuff with people while observing these animals. I have witnessed countless couples and individuals, all trying to get the selfie of a lifetime, only to end up being chased by one of these enormous beasts.

One particular afternoon a group of teenagers dared one of their group members to try and touch a sleeping buffalo and she got within a few feet but the buffalo quickly rose and proceeded to charge. Luckily she made it back to the vehicle safely because it could have ended a lot differently if she hadn’t.

While taking these images I never left the safety of the vehicle and I stayed on the road. I have seen way too many close calls to know just how dangerous it can be to be so close to these magnificent animals.

This particular animal paid no attention to the vehicles but if one of us decided to get out of our vehicles I would have bet all I had it would have acted much differently. Safety should always be of the highest priority when viewing or photographing any wildlife and the best place to do both is from inside the vehicle.

I am not sure how many bison are on Antelope Island but plenty was available to be seen. I am postulating a couple hundred or so from my observations but that is only a guess.

It is one of if not the top attraction on the island for out of state tourists and even local visitors to the state park. It’s quite rare when bison can’t be seen, at least from a distance, somewhere on the island.

Many times, however, they are in very close proximity to the road and give a very close up and personal look, such as what happened for me and my father on this particular winters day.

My suggestion to all would be to make a trip someday to see not only the bison but all the attractions on Antelope Island. It has some incredible wildlife viewing opportunities, a historic ranch site and some of the most spectacular sunsets ever seen.

For more information about Antelope Island State Park visit their website. This particular state park, along with the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, is two of my most favorite places to visit and photograph. I purchase the year-long state park pass as I frequent antelope island several times per week. For me, it is well worth the money spent on such an incredible place to visit.